


When the Time Comes

by themistrollsin



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-29
Updated: 2013-09-29
Packaged: 2017-12-28 00:16:50
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/985343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/themistrollsin/pseuds/themistrollsin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Patrick is jealous of Brandon Saad being put into his spot of the first line.  He's even more jealous of how Brandon and Jonathan are acting with each other.  He goes as far as thinking Jonathan is cheating on him and decides to end it before Jonathan can.</p>
            </blockquote>





	When the Time Comes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [idra](https://archiveofourown.org/users/idra/gifts).



> Written for 2013's Hockey Big Bang! Had to worry a little that I wasn't going to get it finished, but I made it! 
> 
> Major thanks to my Katie who helped push me through.

 

Patrick has never considered himself a jealous person. Why should he? He’s never had to be jealous over anything. Like anyone, he does have moments of weakness, but nothing more than that; until now. He and Jonathan have been together for almost four years. Longer than Patrick would have ever imagined. He would have thought by now Jonathan would have gotten tired of him. But he hadn’t, up until now apparently. Of all the places Patrick could see this, it had to be in the middle of a game. He had to see the looks while he’s sitting on the bench cheering for a goal that had just been scored. He had to see the way Brandon looks at Jonathan. Normally it probably wouldn’t have fazed him. This was different, though. Jonathan returned the look. He’d know that look anywhere. It’s one he’d gotten many times.

Looking away, Patrick sighs. He can’t even celebrate with his teammates as they join him on the bench. Naturally Jonathan has to sit beside him too. He tries to keep his attention on the ice, but it’s hard with Jonathan right there. He’s thankful when his line is sent out to the ice. He’s not so thankful when he gets the puck stolen from him and there’s a breakaway toward Ray. He rushes after the other player. Ray makes a great grab and the whistle sounds.

Sharp approaches Patrick. “You okay?” he asks.

Patrick nods. “Sure,” He answers. He skates away to get ready for the face off. He can already see Sharp’s frown and as he takes a quick glance toward the bench, he sees Jonathan’s even bigger frown. _Focus, Kane._

After the game ends with the Blackhawks winning 4-2, no thanks to Patrick, they all head into the locker room. Patrick sits down by his locker and lets out a heavy breath. He hopes the reporters won’t take too long tonight. All he wants to do is go home and crawl under the covers. He frowns at the thought. Maybe he’ll sleep on the couch tonight. Though maybe Jonathan won’t even be home tonight. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jonathan sit down. Sometimes he really hates that their lockers are next to each other.

“You okay?” Jonathan asks.

“Fantastic,” Patrick mutters. He leans down and unties his skates. He can feel Jonathan’s eyes on him. “What?”

“What’s going on with you?”

“Nothing. I told you, I’m fantastic.”

“Really? How can you be so fantastic when you just had the worst game out there?”

“We won, didn’t we?”

“No thanks to you.” Jonathan sighs. “Paddy…”

“Just drop it, Jonathan.” He’s not sure when the last time it was that he called him Jonathan. He usually calls him Johnny. Most in the locker room must have heard the name he called out because there are multiple eyes staring at him. The pair that pisses him off the most is Brandon. How dare the kid look at him right now?

Jonathan stares at Patrick in disbelief. Patrick only calls him Jonathan when he’s mad at him. He just isn’t sure what he did to make him mad this time. “Well…” He shakes his head. “Have it your way.” He turns away and starts taking his gear off.

Patrick frowns to himself. Great, now the entire team is going to know there’s something going on. He puts his skates in his locker before pulling his red sweater off.

It’s almost a half hour later when he’s finally able to shower. He lets the hot water hit the back of his neck for a few minutes. Maybe he’ll just stay in here until everyone else leaves. Not that it would ever work. Jonathan would be out there waiting for him. He won’t give the man that satisfaction. He’ll leave before Jonathan can even finish up. Everyone knows that Jonathan is always the last one to leave.

After finishing his shower, he wraps his towel around his waist and heads back over to his locker. He gets dressed quickly. Maybe he’ll manage to make it out of here before Jonathan finishes. His heart sinks though. They’d driven here together. He has to wait for him. He could simply grab a ride from someone else, but he doesn’t want to have to explain why. He’s not even sure how he really feels right now.

Patrick sits down and waits for Jonathan. When he realizes he’s alone in the room, he turns and pulls a picture out of his bag. It’s one he’s kept with him since he and Jonathan had gotten together. It was their first personal picture taken together. He’s always loved Jonathan’s awkward smile. It was obvious that they were both nervous. They’d gotten together right after Patrick’s 20th birthday. Patrick could still remember their first date. Of course, no one could know about what they were really doing when they went out to dinner. Luckily for them, everyone had known they were friends so there was nothing suspicious about the two of them going out together.

“I’ll be ready in a couple minutes,” Jonathan says.

Patrick shoves the picture back into his bag and looks over. “Okay,” he says softly. He hopes Jonathan hadn’t seen what he was looking at. He frowns at that, unsure as to why he wouldn’t want Jonathan to know. He looks over at Jonathan once again. The man is still absolutely gorgeous. Too bad Jonathan doesn’t feel the same about him anymore. He frowns once again. What if he’s wrong?

“I invited Brandon over for dinner tomorrow,” Jonathan says.

Patrick pouts a little. “Okay,” he mutters. So much for being wrong.

Looking over, Jonathan raises an eyebrow. “That okay?”

Patrick shrugs. “Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know. You just seem a bit weird about it.” Jonathan sits down to put his shoes on. “Something on your mind?”

“Nope.” Patrick grabs his bag. “I think I’ll start heading out to the car.”

“Paddy…”

Patrick sighs and turns to look at Jonathan. “What?” He tries to hold everything in.

“Nothing. I’ll see you out there.”

Patrick walks out without saying anything else. He wipes his eyes as he starts toward the player’s parking lot. He hates that this is happening. What’s he supposed to do? Jonathan has been his life for four years. Now he doesn’t even know where they stand. How is he supposed to handle any of this? He reaches the car, setting his bag down on the trunk. Maybe it’s time they take some time apart.

Jonathan walks over a few minutes later. He takes Patrick’s bag off the trunk before putting both of their bags into the back. “Ready?” he asks.

Patrick nods. “Ready.” He climbs into the car and stares out the side window.

Jonathan frowns as he climbs behind the wheel. He pulls out of the parking lot and heads toward their apartment. “Want to stop for something to eat?”

“Whatever you want.” Patrick takes a quick look over at Jonathan. This is the first time in ages that Jonathan hasn’t taken his hand on their way home. It’s the one gesture he gets from Jonathan when they’re in public. Tonight it’s different. Jonathan has his right hand on the steering wheel instead of his left. Patrick frowns as he looks away again. He’s lost his Johnny.

Patrick climbs out of the car after Jonathan parks in his spot in the parking garage. He walks to the back of the car and grabs his bag. Before Jonathan has even made it to the trunk, Patrick has begun walking toward the doors leading to the building. He hates this feeling and he doesn’t know how to make it go away. He’s not surprised when Jonathan easily catches up with him. He knows he wasn’t really walking all that fast.

“You ever going to tell me what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” Patrick steps onto the elevator. “Why would something be wrong?”

Jonathan frowns at Patrick. “I don’t know. But you’re acting…”

“How am I acting, Jonathan?”

“I hate when you call me Jonathan like that.”

“It’s your name, isn’t it? Or did that change too?”

“Change too? What are you talking about?”

Patrick doesn’t say anything else as he steps off the elevator. He walks toward their apartment. He stops, waiting for Jonathan to come unlock the door. Jonathan reaches past him, unlocking the door. Patrick walks in, still ignoring Jonathan as he heads to the bedroom.

“You going to talk to me?” Jonathan asks.

“Nope,” Patrick answers. He sets his bag down and kicks his shoes off.

“Paddy, come on.”

“I’m tired and I want to go to bed.” Patrick strips down to his boxers before climbing into bed. “You know, you could have talked to me about him coming to dinner tomorrow.”

“You’re mad at me because Brandon is coming to dinner?” Jonathan shakes his head. “You’re being ridiculous, Patrick.”

Patrick looks at Jonathan. “I’m being ridiculous? Really?” He stands up and grabs his pillow.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m sleeping out on the couch.” He starts to walk out of the bedroom, but Jonathan grabs his arm. “Let go.”

“What’s the big deal about him coming over to dinner?”

Patrick stares at Jonathan. “Are you serious?” He shakes his head. “You really don’t know?”

“No. Help me out here.”

Patrick pulls his arm away from Jonathan. “Goodnight, Jonathan.” He walks out before Jonathan can say anything else. He tosses his pillow on the couch before laying down. He knows it’s probable that he won’t get any sleep tonight. He could have easily kicked Jonathan out of the bedroom, but he didn’t want to give the other man that satisfaction.

Jonathan walks into the living room a short time later. “Come to bed, Patrick,” he says.

“Go away,” Patrick mutters and turns onto his side away from Jonathan.

“Paddy, come on.” He walks over and kneels down beside the couch. He leans in, kissing Patrick’s bare shoulder. “You will never be able to sleep out here and you know it.”

Patrick closes his eyes. “I don’t care.” He waits when Jonathan kisses his shoulder like that. It always leads to him forgetting that he’s mad at him and drives him back into his arms.

“Yes you do. You’re cranky when you don’t sleep and we have practice in the morning.” Jonathan kisses Patrick’s shoulder again. “Come on.”

“Fine. Just don’t touch me.” Patrick sits up and grabs his pillow.

*****

Patrick walks into the kitchen the following evening to find Jonathan starting to fix dinner. He frowns a bit, but doesn’t say anything about that. “What are you making?” he asks softly.

Jonathan looks over. “Lemon pepper chicken and potatoes,” he answers. “What vegetable do you think?”

“Corn?”

“That sounds good.”

“Want some help?” Patrick walks over to the freezer and looks for the package of corn.

“Sure.” Jonathan smiles over at Patrick. “I was thinking of baked potatoes.”

“Only way to have them with your lemon pepper chicken.” Patrick looks over at Jonathan and smirks.

Jonathan returns the smile. “Figured you’d say that.” They work in silence, which is unusual for them to do. There’s usually something going on between the two of them. Even if it’s simply little comments about something. This is definitely not what they’ve done before.

Patrick frowns when the buzzer goes off. He glances over at Jonathan. Deep down he’d hoped Jonathan would tell him that Brandon wasn’t coming. Too good to be true though. Jonathan wipes his hands on the towel before heading to the door. Patrick frowns even more. Jonathan hadn’t said a word to him. When Jonathan returns, Brandon is with him. Patrick watches Brandon closes as Jonathan gets them all something to drink.

“Hey, Patrick,” Brandon says.

“Hey,” Patrick responds. He walks over to the cabinet to get plates out. He glances over at Jonathan who is now in deep conversation with Brandon. He has to turn away so he doesn’t do or say anything that he may end up regretting. He puts the bowl of corn back in the microwave and starts warming it up.

“Dinner will be ready as soon as the corn is done,” Jonathan says. He walks over to the stove and starts plating the chicken and baked potatoes. He glances at Patrick. “At least pretend to be happy.”

Patrick looks at him and plasters a big, fake smile on. “Better?”

“Paddy…”

“Just go away.”

Brandon frowns when he hears the slight argument. “Is this a bad time? Should I leave?”

Patrick looks over at him. “Do whatever you want, I don’t care.”

“Patrick,” Jonathan says. He sighs and looks at Brandon. “No, you can stay. Sorry.”

Brandon nods a little. “Okay.”

Patrick looks at Jonathan. He’s thankful when the microwave beeps. He pulls the corn out and scoops a spoonful on each plate.

Patrick is mostly silent during dinner, only speaking when Jonathan or Brandon acknowledged him. The conversations were held by the other two. Patrick preferred it that way because he didn’t feel like talking to the kid. He would give anything to throw the kid out of his place, but he won’t do that.

After they finish cleaning everything up, they all head into the living room. Patrick watches Jonathan sit down on the couch. Just like every other time he does, Jonathan rests his arm on the back of the couch. Patrick would normally sit down beside Jonathan. Before he can make a move, however, Brandon is sitting down. Patrick frowns as he watches Jonathan look at the kid and smile at something he says. How can he just sit there like that? Brandon is sitting in the spot is normally in.

“I think we should break up,” Patrick says.

Jonathan looks at him. “What?” he asks. “Paddy…”

“Yeah, it’s time.” With that, Patrick turns and walks to the bedroom. He closes the door behind him.

Jonathan stares after him in disbelief. It’s not something he had expected to hear. He knows they’ve been having their issues, but when did it come to this? He glances at Brandon who is sitting there shocked.

“I um…” Brandon starts. “I think I should go.”

Jonathan nods. “I’m sorry, Brandon.”

“No, don’t apologize. I should be the one apologizing. He’s seemed a bit off lately.”

Jonathan nods once again as he follows Brandon to the door. “See you tomorrow.”

“Bye.”

Jonathan closes the door after Brandon leaves before he heads to the bedroom. He steps in and finds Patrick staring out the window. “Patrick…”

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Patrick interrupts.

“Well I do. You’re breaking up with me, I think I deserve to know why. What’s going on, Patrick? What did I do? Did I say something that made you want to leave?”

Patrick snorts. “You’re so stupid sometimes, you know that?” He turns and looks at Jonathan. “You have to be to not know what’s going on.”

“Fine, then I’m stupid. Now tell me what the hell is going on.”

“If you didn’t want to be with me, then you should have just said so.”

Jonathan raises an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m talking about Brandon!”

“Brandon? Paddy…”

“Do not call me that. You don’t deserve to. So just go be with him if you want him so bad!”

“You’re being ridiculous. I don’t want Brandon.”

“I’m not an idiot, Jonathan. I saw the smiles.”

“What smiles? Help me out here, Patrick. I have no clue what you’re talking about.”

“I’m talking about the smiles you and Brandon have been sharing. They should be very familiar to you because you’ve shared them with me before.” Patrick looks at Jonathan when he doesn’t say anything. “Can’t deny it, can you?”

“I’m trying to wrap my mind around this insanity.” Jonathan rubs the back of his neck. “I am not giving him any kind of smile that I give to you.”

“Liar.”

“Patrick, come on. It took us how long to finally get together? Why would I want anything or anyone different?”

“I’m done, Jonathan. I can’t stand back and watch you two anymore and pretend there’s nothing going on.”

“Nothing is going on!” Jonathan sighs. “What do I have to do to prove it?”

“There is nothing to do. I’m done, Jonathan. Get out. I’m done.”

Jonathan finds himself staring at the door of Brent’s place. He lets out a soft breath as he rings the doorbell. It doesn’t take long for Brent to answer. He looks up, smiling sadly when Brent raises an eyebrow.

“John, what are you doing here?” Brent asks.

“I hope I’m not interrupting,” Jonathan says softly.

“No, of course not.”

“Can I crash on the couch tonight?”

Brent frowns. “Come in John.” He closes the door behind Jonathan. “What’s going on?”

“Patrick kicked me out.”

“He what?”

“And broke up with me.”

Brent stares at Jonathan. “This is a joke right? He’s going to pop in now, right?”

Jonathan shakes his head. “No. He thinks I have something going on with Brandon.”

“The kid? Is Patrick aware at how much he has you wrapped around his finger? How could he possibly think you have anything going on with Saad?”

Jonathan shrugs. “I don’t know. I just… I think I just want to sleep and hopefully when I wake up it’ll all be a dream.”

Brent smiles sadly at him. “Sure, John. Come on. I’ll grab you something to change into.”

“Thank you.” Jonathan follows Brent down the hall and into the bedroom. He takes the t-shirt and pair of shorts Brent hands him. “Thanks. I owe you.”

“You owe me nothing. I know you’d do the same for me if this was turned around.” He watches Jonathan nod in agreement. “Go change. I’ll get a pillow and a blanket for you.”

“Okay.” Jonathan turns and walks into the bathroom. He’s never felt this before. He’s lost right now and it’s not a feeling he wants to continue to have.

The next morning, after no sleep, Jonathan is changing back into his clothes. He’s going to have to get back to their place to get more if Patrick isn’t going to let him in. He frowns. He needs to talk to Patrick. They will be able to work this out.

Jonathan steps off the elevator and turns the corner toward their place. He stops when he sees a couple bags sitting outside the door. His heart breaks at that. They’re his bags. Patrick packed his bags. This is… Jonathan takes a shaky breath. How can this be happening? They were perfect, or so he thought. Rubbing the back of his neck, he walks over. As he’s approaching his things, the door opens. He looks up to see Patrick standing there.

“Paddy…”

“Don’t talk to me.”

He stares at Patrick. “Shouldn’t I be the one pissed off right now? You broke up with me because you assume there’s something going on between me and Brandon.”

“It’s…”

“You’re the one who kicked me out last night.”

“This is…”

“And now I find you throwing my things out of our place. Should I thank you for at least packing my things?” He shakes his head, trying to hold his tears back. He doesn’t want to cry in front of Patrick.

“Do you want help?”

Jonathan snorts. “No, I don’t want help. I want to know why you’re doing this to us.” He watches Patrick. “Tell me what I need to do in order for you to believe that I love you.”

“There’s nothing. I’m tired of wondering, Jonathan. So we’ll go back to the way it used to be. We’ll go back to what we were before we got together.”

“There’s no way we can go back to that. For the sake of our team and our fans, we’ll keep this professional. But I can’t go back to us being friends. Not when I’m in love you, Patrick.” He wipes his eyes before grabbing some of his bags. “I’ll come back for the rest. Right now, I guess I have to find someplace to live.”

Jonathan sits down on Brent’s couch as he flips through the paper to see if there’s any apartments listed. He rubs the back of his neck and lets out a heavy breath. Everything is too far from where he wants to be. Not that he should be surprised by this fact.

“You can just stay here,” Brent says.

Jonathan shakes his head. “No, I can’t do that. That’ll make it look like I’m expecting us to get back together.”

“Aren’t you?”

Looking at Brent, Jonathan shrugs. “I didn’t want to break up. I’m giving him what he wants. So here I am. Any openings in your building?”

“Don’t think so. I can call my landlord and see if there’s anything here or at any of his other places in the area.”

“Would be appreciated.” Jonathan leans back on the couch and lets his head fall back. He hates that this is happening. This is definitely not how he wanted to be spending his day.

“I’ll go give him a call. May not be able to get a hold of him right now. He has a day job too.”

Jonathan nods. “Okay. His other buildings like this?”

“For the most part. I think there are a few that are a bit run down. But they’re just old buildings.” Brent grabs his phone.

Jonathan covers his face and takes a shaky breath. He still can’t believe this is happening to him. He’s going to have to get used to it though. This is how it’s going to be from now on. He shouldn’t have to wallow in his misery, but that’s exactly what he wants to do. He wants to be a normal person who can actually be heartbroken over a breakup. He wants to curl up and simply cry.

Brent returns a few minutes later. “He doesn’t have anything right now,” he says. He holds his hand up before Jonathan can say anything. “His brother also has a few properties. So he’s going to call him to see if there’s any openings. He does have one that’ll be available next month. So there’s always that option.”

“Where’s that one at?”

“Two floors up.”

Jonathan nods. “Okay. Well, I guess we just wait to see what the brother says and then take it from there.”

Brent sits down beside Jonathan. “Is this really it with you two?”

Jonathan shrugs. “He’s made it pretty clear he’s done.” He looks at Brent. “I have to get the rest of my things. Would you help?”

“Of course. I’ll give Duncan a call and see if he can help to if you need more.”

“No, you and I should be enough. But thanks.”

It doesn’t take long for the two of them to get everything else that Patrick had left in the hall. Jonathan hates having to depend on someone else to help him and give him a place to stay, but for now, he’s going to have to live with it. There’s nothing he can do about it right now. So until Patrick does something different, this is how it’s going to go.

Three weeks later, all of which Jonathan had spent on Brent’s couch, he finds himself moving up to the apartment two floors above Brent. Jonathan had thought by this point, something would have changed between him and Patrick. Instead, they’re barely talking. The only time they are is when they absolutely need to for practice and games. What hurt even worse was finding out that Patrick had requested a line change for good. When he’d heard that, Jonathan almost broke down completely. They worked so well together on the ice. Of course, at one time they worked well off the ice too.

Jonathan sits down on his couch and lets out a soft breath. He hasn’t lived alone in quite some time. How is he supposed to get used to this? Even when he and Patrick still had their own places at the start of their relationship, they would usually end up staying on one place together. When they went their separate ways in the off season, he’d stay with his parents. It wasn’t until Patrick joined him or he joined Patrick that he’d stay at his place in Winnipeg or Patrick’s place in Hamburg.

Hearing the knock on the door, Jonathan doesn’t really need to ask who it is. If it isn’t Brent, it’ll be Duncan. He lets out a soft breath as he stands up once again and heads to the door. He smiles a little at the sight of both Brent and Duncan.

“Hey,” Duncan says.

“Hi,” Jonathan says. “Come in.” He steps to the side to let them in. “What brings you over?”

“Just wanted to check up on you and see how things are going.” He nudges Jonathan as he passes. “Looks good in here.”

“Thanks.” He gestures for them to take a seat. “Can I get you something to drink? Don’t have much right now, but I have water and pop.”

“We’re okay. We won’t stay long. Sure you still have some things to do.”

Jonathan nods. “Still unpacking some things. And I have to get out and buy a few things.”

“Have you talked to him?” Brent asks.

Jonathan looks at him. “At practice yesterday and that was all it was for.”

Brent frowns at him. “Have you tried anything else?”

“No. Look, this is what he wanted, so I’m giving it to him. Not happy about it, but it is what it is.” He shrugs. “And I don’t want you two to pick sides or whatever. We’ve been friends for way too long. It’s going to stay that way.”

Patrick glances over at the clock when a knock sounds. He hadn’t been expecting anyone to come by. Standing up, he heads over and pulls the door open. He frowns when he sees Pat standing there.

“Hey,” Pat says.

“Hi,” Patrick responds. “Was I expecting you?”

Pat shakes his head. “No. But I was on my way home and thought I’d drop by and see how you were.”

Patrick frowns. “I’m fine.”

“Uh huh. You going to invite me in?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Patrick steps to the side. “Come in.” He closes the door behind the other man after he steps in. He watches as Pat looks around. “So what’s up?”

Pat looks at him. “Want to tell me why you asked for a line change? Don’t get me wrong, I like having you on my line. But it’s a bit confusing. You work great with Johnny.”

Patrick lets out a soft breath. He’s not really surprised by this question. He’s actually surprised it’s taken so long for anyone to question him on it. “I couldn’t handle it,” he says softly.

“You couldn’t handle it? You broke up with him, Patrick.”

“I know. But that doesn’t make any of this easy for me.” He shrugs as they sit down.

“I’m not saying it does make it easy for you.”

“It hurts. Every time I see them, it hurts.”

“Patrick, there is nothing going on between them.”

Patrick laughs softly. “I see how they look at each other, Pat. I’m not an idiot.”

“You’re seeing something that’s not there. Look, I’m not taking sides. You know I’m friends with both of you. But I really think you need to take a step back and look at everything.”

Patrick frowns a little. “Can we not talk about him, please?”

Pat sighs but nods. “Yeah, okay.”

Patrick watches Pat for a moment. “I don’t want you to choose sides.”

“Good, because you know I can’t do that.”

Patrick nods. “Good.” He lets out a soft breath. He doesn’t want to be going through any of this, but he knows what he’s seen between Jonathan and Brandon. How can he not do something about it? No matter how many people tell him that there’s nothing going on, Patrick can see it. He’s not blind.

Pat squeezes his arm. “I think you should come out with me and Abby. We’re going to dinner.”

Patrick wrinkles his nose, but nods. “Yeah, okay. Let me go change though.”

“I’ll wait here.”

Patrick isn’t surprised by this. He figures Pat will want to make sure he actually comes back out. When it comes to Pat, Patrick isn’t dumb enough to try to hide out in his bedroom. Pat would be the one to come back and bust the door down if he had to. So he simply nods and heads to his bedroom. He changes into a pair of jeans and grabs the first t-shirt he reaches in the drawer for. When he realizes it’s one he had stolen from Jonathan, he shoves it back into the drawer. He reaches in for another one, thankful that it’s his one his time. He slips into his flip flops before returning to the living room.

“Okay, I’m ready,” he says.

Pat stands up and smiles at him. “You’ll have fun.”

“This isn’t a ploy, is it? Jonathan isn’t going to be there, right?”

“No, just my wife and daughter.”

Patrick nods. “Good. If he is there, I get to hit you.”

“Deal.”

He sighs of relief, knowing he doesn’t have to worry now. Even though he could never hurt Pat, he knows the other man would never make a deal like this if he were going to lose. He grabs his keys and follows Pat out of the apartment.

“I have to pick Abby and Madelyn up,” Pat says as they step onto the elevator.

Patrick nods. “Okay.”

While he really hadn’t wanted to go anywhere, Patrick is glad he had. It was nice having dinner with Pat and Abby. They kept small conversation going through the entire meal, none of which consisted of anything including Jonathan. Patrick was definitely thankful to not have to listen to them badger him about their captain.

After getting back up to his place, Patrick collapses onto the couch. It had be a nice evening, but he’s glad to be home again. He looks around and frowns. Maybe he should think about getting a new place. But he had lived here before he and Jonathan had even moved in together. He shouldn’t have to give this up. He can simply redo some things that remind him too much of Jonathan.

Jonathan walks into the locker room at his usual time before a game. He rubs the back of his neck as he heads over to his locker. As he’s sitting down, he hears noise from behind him. He glances, shocked to find Patrick walking in. He licks his lips as Patrick nods at him as he passes. Instead of sitting down beside him at his own locker, Patrick continues to the other end of the room. Jonathan can’t help but continue to watch his former boyfriend. The pain hasn’t gone away, but he has somehow managed to make it through. It hasn’t been easy, but he hasn’t had much of a choice.

Patrick returns a few minutes later and takes his seat. He glances over at Jonathan. “Q wants to see you,” he says softly.

Jonathan frowns a little but nods. “Okay.” He stands up and heads to the direction Patrick had just come from. He knocks on Joel’s open office door. “Kane said you wanted to see me?”

Joel nods. “Come on in and have a seat.”

Jonathan takes a seat. Joel hadn’t asked him to close the door, so it mustn’t be bad news. He licks his lips as he watches his coach. “Is everything okay?”

Joel leans back and looks at Jonathan. “I should be asking you this.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Things have been tense the last several weeks. Patrick asked to be permanently left on the second line. You two are barely talking. This is very unusual for you two.”

Jonathan frowns. “Patrick wanted to be kept on the second line?”

“You didn’t know this?”

“No, I had no idea. Did he tell you why?”

“Just said he thought it was for the best. But as you can see by the way our record has been, I really don’t think that’s the case. Do you?”

“No.”

“What I want you to do, is get him to agree to be on the same line as you again. We cannot continue like this. So figure out a way to get him back on your line.”

Jonathan frowns. “Okay. I don’t know how I’m supposed to do that.” He shakes his head. “I’ll figure something out.”

“Good. I’m not expecting this tonight. While I would like it to be, I know how stubborn he can be.”

Jonathan nods. “Yes, sir.”

“That’s all.”

Jonathan stands up and walks out after giving Joel a small wave. He heads back over to his locker, frowning as he sits down once again. How is he supposed to convince Patrick they need to be on the same line once again?

The following evening, Jonathan finds himself standing outside of Patrick’s building. He lets out a heavy breath. They never had any trouble talking, it could still be that way. Jonathan knows that there’s no way they could go back to that. But something needs to happen. He needs to get Patrick back on his line. After staring at the building for a couple more minutes, Jonathan finally makes his way to the door. He nods at the doorman before heading to the elevator. He’s thought out the conversation over and over since last night but still can’t figure out what to say to Patrick.

Stepping off the elevator, Jonathan takes a deep breath. He has no choice but to knock now and get this over with. Walking over to the door, Jonathan presses the doorbell. He lets out a soft breath as he waits for Patrick to answer. They don’t have to do the small talk. Jonathan can just get straight to the point. That’s all that has to happen. It’s as simple as that. Simple… if only this was simple.

Jonathan looks up when the door opens. He takes a shaky breath when he sees Patrick standing there. “Hi,” he says.

Patrick raises an eyebrow. “Hey,” he responds.

“Got a few minutes? We need to talk.”

Patrick sighs and shakes his head. “Jonathan, there’s nothing to talk about anymore.”

“This isn’t about us.” He watches Patrick watch him carefully. “It’s about the team.”

“It is?”

Jonathan nods. “Yes.” He licks his lips. “Please, Patrick.”

Patrick sighs. “Fine. Come in.”

Jonathan steps inside, closing the door behind him. He can’t help but look around a little. The first thing he notices is the fact that the pictures he was in are no longer up. He frowns a little at that.

“So, what about the team?”

“Coach pulled me in before yesterday’s game to talk about the lines.” Jonathan watches Patrick closely. “He wants you back on the first line.”

Patrick looks at Jonathan and snorts. “He does? Or you do?”

Jonathan sighs. “I’m not going to lie and say I don’t want you back on my line, but I wasn’t going to force anything. Coach told me to talk sense into you to get you back on the first line.”

“Well, it’s not going to happen. I’m perfectly happy where I’m at.”

Jonathan raises an eyebrow. “You are?” That comment was all Jonathan needed to get everything out. “You’re okay with not scoring in four games? You’re okay with the fact that we have lost the seven of our last ten games? Fuck not scoring in four games, when was the last game you had a good scoring game? You’ve gotten lucky.” He shakes his head. “I don’t care what is going on between you and I, you know damn well you’re better off on my line. So pull your head out of your ass and think about the team. I’ve stayed out of you way since you broke up with me. You need to get with it and see what you’re doing to our team.” He watches Patrick for another moment. “Practice tomorrow morning, you better be there.”

Patrick frowns. “We weren’t supposed to have one.”

“Well, I just called one. You will be there or I will have you benched.”

“You can’t…”

“I can and I will.” With that, Jonathan turns around and storms out.

Jonathan walks into the locker room the next morning. He looks around to see if anyone isn’t here yet. He notes that Patrick is sitting in his usual seat. He’s glad to see the other man here. “Good morning,” he says. “Glad everyone got the message.” He’s not surprised by some of the grumbles he gets. “Nice to see you too. Looks like we’re still missing a few, so we’ll wait for a few more minutes.”

“What’s this about?” Brandon asks.

“You’ll find out when everyone else does.” He looks over at Patrick when he hears him snort. “Problem, Kane?”

“Nope, Toews.” Patrick glares at him. How dare he call him out?

“Keep it that way.” He looks over to see Pat walk in.

“Sorry I’m late. Had a little issue with Madelyn this morning.”

Jonathan nods. “Not a problem. Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Just wasn’t a good morning.” He shrugs. “She’s gotten used to routine and this was out of routine. But it’s good now.”

“Good. You know this doesn’t happen a lot.”

“I know.” Pat smiles at him. “It’s fine, Johnny.”

Jonathan nods and looks around once again. “All right, looks like everyone is here now. Thanks for coming in on such short notice. But we really need to go over some things.” He looks beside him, glad Duncan and Pat are here with him. “We cannot continue to play like we have been. Something has to change. And I mean now. We are supposed to be a great team. No one is proving that out there.”

Patrick rolls his eyes as he leans back in his chair. He crosses his arms across his chest, listening as Jonathan continues to read them the riot act.

Jonathan looks around after finishing his talk. “Any questions?” he asks. He’s a little surprised when no one says anything. He just hopes he’s gotten through to them.

Duncan squeezes Jonathan’s shoulder. “I would like to add something too,” he says. “If that’s okay with the captain here.”

Jonathan looks at him and nods. “Sure.”

“I am taking it upon myself to make some changes in the lines. I talked to Q and he approved, so if you have an issue with it, you can go see him. First thing is first, Kane, you _are_ back on first line. I don’t care if I have to push you out there every damn time. Saad, you’ll be on two in his place.” He goes through a few more changes before finishing up.

“Any questions?” Jonathan asks. He watches Patrick closely, knowing he’d be the one to complain about something. When the man stays silent, he looks around. “Great. That’s everything then. You can go.” Jonathan walks into the back of the locker room. He’ll wait for everyone to leave before he leaves; just like he does any other time.

When he walks back out a few minutes later, he’s surprised to see find Patrick still sitting there. He frowns a little. “Patrick?”

Patrick doesn’t look over. “So you got what you wanted,” he says softly.

“I didn’t know Duncs was doing that.”

Patrick nods. “He told me.” He finally looks up and over at Jonathan.

“I’m glad he did though. You and I work well together out there and you know that.”

“This doesn’t change anything between us.”

Jonathan nods. “I know.”

Patrick stands up. “Good.” He looks at Jonathan. “I’ll see you for practice tomorrow then.”

Jonathan watches as Patrick walks out. He rubs the back of his neck. He’s not sure if things will ever be the same again. But he has to keep this team, this family, together. And that’s exactly what he plans on doing.

Over the next few days, the games start going better. They’ve split the four games they have played. While it’s not what any of them wanted, at least they were making progress. Just like they had previously, Jonathan and Patrick work well on the ice together. It’s almost as if they hadn’t spent any time on different lines.

Before they know it, they’re into the post season. Jonathan sits down in the locker room and takes a deep breath. Their first game against the Wild is tonight. He just hopes they’re ready. The last few games have been so up and down that Jonathan isn’t even sure what to expect anymore. He looks up when someone walks in. He’s surprised to see Patrick walking in. Patrick is never the first person after Jonathan to arrive at the arena.

“Hey,” Patrick says softly as he takes his seat.

Jonathan is stunned. He definitely hadn’t thought Patrick would ever initiate conversation between them. Not that ‘hey’ is anything big. “Hi,” he says.

“Ready for tonight?”

“I sure hope so. You?”

Patrick nods. “Pretty much. Hoping I can redeem myself from the last few games where I’ve done nothing.”

Jonathan nods. He can definitely understand Patrick’s frustrations. Neither of them had been having great games lately. “You and I both.”

Patrick snorts a little. “Yeah, but you don’t have everyone on your back.” He looks over. “You’ve always been better than me.”

Jonathan frowns at Patrick. “Patrick…”

“No, it’s true. And I’m okay with that. I know you’re a better player, better teammate, and all that. It is what it is.” He shrugs. “Are you busy tonight after the game?”

Jonathan’s heart skips a beat at the question. “My brother’s in town. We were planning on catching a bite to eat afterwards.”

“Oh, okay.”

“I can cancel though.”

“No, it’s fine. You go have fun with your brother. You deserve to have a little fun.” Patrick smiles a little. “God knows you’ve been putting way too much thought into what we’ve been doing wrong out on the ice.”

Jonathan grins. “Someone has to.”

Patrick chuckles. “Leave it to Captain Serious.” He looks at Jonathan. “Tell David I said hi, though.”

Jonathan nods. “Of course.”

Just before heading out for their warm up, Jonathan stands up to give the before game speech. “Look, I can stand here and tell you every little thing we need to do out there tonight. But you all know what it is. So I’ll just say this, have fun out there. Give it your all. Don’t give up.” He looks around the room. “No matter what happens this post season, I’m proud of everyone in here. We’ve definitely had our ups and downs, but we’ve continued to fight back.”

Duncan looks at him as he stands up. “With all due respect, Johnny, it’s not good enough. We’ve all worked too hard to not win this. I expect everyone to get out there and give it 120%.”

The game ends up with a Blackhawks win in overtime. Everyone is happy that they’d won, but they also know that they could have easily lost as well. No one is celebrating much more than a simple sigh of relief.

It takes five games, but they manage to move on to the next round. Jonathan looks around the locker room as they prepare for their final game, game seven, against the Red Wings. He lets out a soft breath as he sees everyone getting focused on the task at hand. Jonathan knows they’re lucky to even still be in the series. He just has to look past their mistakes and see that they’re working as a team. They continue to come together even when they’re down.

He stands and makes his way toward the door, turning and stepping to the side when he reaches it. He watches as the others walk by him, each touching Jonathan’s glove with their own. He watches Patrick approach. They tap gloves, just like every other game. Before Patrick walks through the door, though, he’s hitting Jonathan’s stomach gently.

“Go get ‘em, Captain.”

Jonathan smiles a little as he follows them out. He doesn’t know what to think about this new attitude from Patrick, but he’s glad they’re at least not glaring at each other anymore. This is a start. He steps out onto the ice and starts the normal pregame warm up.

The game ends in the second overtime. They’re all exhausted but still manage to celebrate their victory. Somehow, Jonathan manages to make it back to his apartment. He’s about to crawl into bed when the buzzer sounds. Frowning, he looks at the clock. It’s way too late for anyone to be here. He groans as he pads down the hall and pushes the talk button.

“Yeah?”

“Johnny?”

Jonathan’s heart skips. Patrick. And he called him Johnny. Jonathan quickly hits the other button, releasing the lock downstairs. He unlocks his own door, before pulling it open. He steps out into the hall and watches the stairs. Sixth floor… maybe he’d take the elevator. Jonathan throws a look over at the elevator to see that is on its way downstairs. He licks his lips, trying to figure out what Patrick is doing here. The elevator doors slide open a few moments later. Jonathan takes a shaky breath. He watches as Patrick steps off.

When Patrick reaches Jonathan, he stops. “Hi,” Patrick says softly.

“Hi,” Jonathan says just as softly. “Want to come in?”

Patrick nods. “Yeah, thanks.” He steps inside.

Jonathan follows him, closing the door behind him. “Is everything okay?”

Patrick turns and looks at Jonathan. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking lately.”

Jonathan wants to say something but decides to stay silent for the moment. He’s going to let Patrick do this how he wants.

“And I… um…” Patrick rubs the back of his neck and shrugs. “I think I made a mistake, Johnny. No, I know I did. I should have taken a step back and really looked at what was in front of me.”

Jonathan frowns a little. “Patrick…”

“You were right, I was seeing what I wanted to see. I think I was mad at the fact that Q put me on the second line at the beginning. And yeah, I still think you looked at him as more than a friend occasionally. But I don’t think it was intentional or in any way wanting to leave me. I should have seen that then. I just… obviously needed to get away in order to see it.”

“What are you saying, Patrick?”

“I’m saying I miss you. I’m saying I want us to be us again. I’m saying… I’m sorry, Johnny. I’m so sorry. I wish I could take it all back. I just… look, I don’t expect anything from you. I just needed you to know that I was wrong and…” He licks his lips. “I love you.” He watches Jonathan for a moment before walking toward the door.

Jonathan reaches over when Patrick passes him and grabs his arm. “Say it again,” he says.

Patrick frowns at him. “Johnny, I don’t…”

“Paddy, say it again.”

Patrick looks up and meets Jonathan’s gaze. He’d called him Paddy again, which has to mean something. “I love you.”

Jonathan pulls him closer. “I love you too.” He leans down and kisses Patrick. It’s been way too long since he’s felt these lips. He turns and wraps his arms around Patrick’s waist.

Patrick whimpers as he slides his arms around Jonathan’s neck. He’s missed this. He should have never let this man go. But they’re here now. “Johnny…”

Jonathan pulls back and looks at him. “What?”

“Can we…?” He gestures down the hall to where he figures Jonathan’s bedroom is.

Jonathan smiles a little as he takes a step back. He takes Patrick’s hand and leads him down to the bedroom. “How’d you find where I live anyway? You’ve never been here.”

“Brent told me.” Patrick shrugs when Jonathan looks at him. “I needed to find you and it’s not like there are many options of where you could have been.”

Jonathan nods. “I wasn’t keeping it a secret either. All you ever had to do was ask me and I would have told you.”

Stepping forward, Patrick slides his hands down Jonathan’s side. “Think you could get out of your lease?”

“I’m sure I could figure out a way to get out of it.”

“Good. Come home.”

Jonathan leans down and kisses Patrick with a little more force this time. He slides his arms around Patrick’s waist, holding him close against him. Patrick whimpers a little as he pulls Jonathan toward the bed.

“If we do this, there’s no turning back,” Jonathan says. “I can’t let you go again.”

Patrick nods. “You won’t have to. Not going anywhere.” He tugs at Jonathan’s shirt, smiling when Jonathan raises his arms for him to pull it off. Leaning forward, Patrick places soft kisses down Jonathan’s neck. “Missed you so much.”

Jonathan licks his lips. “Missed you.” He slips his hands under Patrick’s shirt, pushing it up his body. He tosses it to the side and looks at Patrick. “Get in bed.” He watches Patrick kick out of his shoes before climbing into bed. He crawls up, hovering over Patrick.

Patrick smiles up at him as he slides his hands up and down his sides. “Been too long.”

“You’re telling me.” Jonathan leans down, kissing Patrick again. He shifts, settling between Patrick’s legs.

Patrick slides his hands down Jonathan back, pushing his fingers under the waistband of the black shorts. Jonathan bucks his hips forward at the mere touch of Patrick’s fingers. Patrick smiles against his lips. Jonathan pulls up enough to look down at Patrick.

“You’re evil,” he says with a slight laugh. He slips down a little, kissing Patrick’s neck. “You have no idea how much I’ve missed this.” He licks at Patrick’s throat before sliding down a little more. He places soft kisses along Patrick’s collarbone.

Patrick slides his fingers into Jonathan’s hair. “Missed your lips.” He gasps when Jonathan closes his mouth around his nipple. “Oh God.”

Jonathan smiles as he licks over the taut bud. “Love getting that reaction from you.”

Patrick nearly whines. “So mean to me.”

Jonathan chuckles. “Oh yes, so mean.” He kisses his way to Patrick’s other nipple. “Mmm.”

Patrick watches him closely. “Oh that’s good.” He licks his lips, arching up against Jonathan’s mouth. “Please, Johnny.”

Jonathan looks up at Patrick as best as he can as he slips down even further. He dips his tongue into Patrick’s navel before placing kisses along his treasure trail. He can feel Patrick shiver like he had done every other time. He lifts up and undoes Patrick’s jeans. He tugs them down Patrick’s leg, tossing them to the side. He looks up at Patrick, smiling a little as he pulls his boxers off.

Patrick curls his fingers in Jonathan’s hair. “Feels so good.”

Jonathan wraps his fingers around Patrick’s cock. He licks his lips as he strokes his cock a few times.

“Please, Johnny. Want to feel your mouth on me.”

Jonathan grins before wrapping his lips around the tip of Patrick’s cock. He hums as he starts bobbing his head slowly. Patrick gasps as he tightens his fingers in Jonathan’s hair.

“Oh yes. Johnny, so good.” He watches Jonathan continue to bob his head. He whimpers as he rocks his hips. “Johnny…”

Jonathan slides his hands up Patrick’s stomach as chest. He moans when Patrick grabs one of his hands and starts sucking two of his fingers. He looks up at him as best as he can as he continues to bob his head. He loves the way Patrick’s mouth tightens on his fingers.

“Fuck, Johnny. So good. Want to feel you in me.” He pushes Jonathan’s hand down.

Jonathan doesn’t stop what he’s doing as he rubs the tip of his finger over Patrick’s opening. He moans as he feels it tighten as he starts pushing in slowly. Patrick whimpers, his hips still rocking.

“Yes,” he whines. “Oh God.” He licks his lips. “Yes, Johnny. Please. More.”

Jonathan wiggles his finger, trying to get Patrick to open up more. When he feels Patrick relax a bit more, he adds a second finger. He pulls off Patrick’s cock and looks up at him. “Relax, Paddy.”

“Trying.” He meets Jonathan’s gaze. “Sorry, just been a while.”

Jonathan slides up, keeping his finger in place, and kisses Patrick. “It’s me. I’ll take care of you.”

Patrick smiles against Jonathan’s lips. “I know you will. I’m ready.”

“You sure?”

Patrick nods. “Want to feel you, Johnny. Do you have lube?”

Jonathan nods. He slips his fingers out of Patrick. “Kept it in the nightstand, hoping you’d see things how they really were.”

“Yeah?” He rubs Jonathan’s back as he leans over to the nightstand. “Longer than you thought?”

“Yeah, quite a bit longer.” Jonathan sits back on his heels. “But, you’re here now.”

“How long did you think it would be?”

Jonathan frowns. “Does it matter?”

“I want to know.”

He lets out a soft breath. “I figured I’d be here a week, maybe two, before you showed up at my door.” He shrugs a little. “Guess I was just being stupid.”

Patrick sits up and kisses Jonathan. “Not stupid. I’m sorry it took me so long.”

Jonathan nods. “It’s okay. I’m just glad you’re back.” He kisses Patrick again as he pushes into him.

Patrick moans, sliding his arms around Jonathan. “Mmmm, Johnny. So good.”

Jonathan starts moving, keeping it at a steady pace. He loves the way Patrick rocks with him with each thrust. He loves the way they know each other so well. Their lips meet once again in a soft, but hungry kiss. Patrick whimpers. Neither can last long, especially when it’s been so long. Reaching between them, Jonathan grasps Patrick’s cock. Patrick gasps as he arches up as he comes.

“Oh, Johnny!”

Jonathan moans as he thrusts in one last time before he reaches his release. “Paddy…” He kisses he man softly. “I love you.”

“I love you.”

******

Jonathan walks into the locker and looks around. This is definitely not what he expected. He’s usually the first one here. It appears that the entire team has beat him today. He raises an eyebrow.

“What’s going on?” he asks.

“We just wanted to beat you here,” Duncan answers with a grin.

Jonathan chuckles. “So I don’t have to worry or anything?”

“Not unless you really want to.”

Jonathan rolls his eyes as he sits down by his locker. He glances over at Patrick and gives him a smile. They hadn’t told anyone that they’d made up. Of course, they weren’t hiding it, so it’s likely everyone knew about it. Patrick returns the smile.

Jonathan knows this could be it. Game six, just like the last time. He licks his lips as he looks around the locker room. Everyone is ready. They all know what they have to do. There’s nothing he can say that they don’t already know. Sure, he’ll still give his pregame talk, but he won’t drag it out. No one needs that.

When it comes to the time where he always makes his comments, Jonathan stands up. “Look, we all know what we need to do out there. I don’t need to tell you every little detail.” He watches everyone for a moment. “You all know where we stand. Don’t listen to what they’ve all said. Remember what we already know. We are good enough. We have what it takes. Go out and give it your all. While you’re doing that, remember to have fun.”

Jonathan can see the clock ticking down. He can hear the crowd buzzing. This is it. This is really it. And then the buzzer sounds. It’s over. Jonathan drops his stick and shakes his gloves off. They won. They did it. They actually did it. As they’re celebrating, Jonathan searches for Patrick. When he sees him, Jonathan heads for him. He wraps him in a tight hug. Patrick beams.

“We did it,” Patrick whispers.

Jonathan smiles. “We did.” He pulls back and looks at Patrick. “You did great.”

“You too, Captain.” Patrick steps back before either of them make a move they’ll later regret.

Jonathan winks at him before they go and celebrate with their teammates once again. They get knowing smiles from them, to which they can only nod. With each hug, they also get a little comment on the fact that they’re back together.

Parade day… the day they get to celebrate with their fans. This is the time they can give back to them. Jonathan knows they wouldn’t be where they are if it weren’t for them. He stands with Patrick as they wait to head out to get on the buses. Unlike last time, they’re on separate buses. Neither expected that to happen, but it works out. Jonathan will be in the front bus while Patrick will be bringing up the rear.

“See you on stage, Captain,” Patrick says. He bumps into Jonathan gently before he heads outside.

Jonathan smiles after him. Looking beside him, he now finds his dad standing there. Bryan smiles at his son.

“You seem happy,” he says. “And not just about the cup.”

Jonathan grins. “I am happy,” he responds.

“Good. And everything is okay with you two?”

Jonathan nods. “Yes. We worked everything out. He even has Saad on the bus with him. They’ve become good friends.”

“You aren’t going to have issues with that now, are you?”

Laughing, he shakes his head. “No. I’m good.”

“Good.” Bryan squeezes Jonathan’s shoulder. “We’re proud of you, son.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

******

Jonathan walks into the bedroom and groans. “Paddy! Why do you insist on throwing your things everywhere?”

Patrick walks out of the bathroom. “To piss you off. I’ve succeeded I see.”

Jonathan rolls his eyes. “Because that’s hard to do.”

Patrick walks over and kisses Jonathan. “But you love me anyways.”

“Obviously.” He slides his fingers through Patrick’s newly cut hair. “Thank you for losing the mullet.”

Patrick pouts at him. “You didn’t like my mullet?”

“No. So do I have to pick this stuff up myself?”

“Can’t it wait?”

“No. I don’t want to be tripping over this stuff when we get home later.”

Patrick sighs. “Fine.” He mutters as he turns to clean up his things.

Jonathan can’t help but smile as he watches Patrick. With what he has planned, he didn’t want to have to worry about any of this when they returned later on. He has to laugh when Patrick is still muttering when he’s done.

“Happy?” Patrick asks.

“Very.” Jonathan taps Patrick’s chin. “Ready?”

“Whatever.” Patrick walks out of the bedroom.

Jonathan grins as he follows him. “You aren’t going to be moody all night, are you?”

“It’s your fault that I am.” He looks at Jonathan. “Am I driving or are you?”

“Pat’s picking us up.”

Patrick frowns. “Why?”

“Because he said he would.” Jonathan shrugs. He grabs his keys as they head outside. He does like that Patrick stays close to him despite being annoyed with him. “You gonna ignore me all night?”

“Possibly.”

Jonathan climbs into Pat’s car behind Patrick. “Thanks for clearing out the baby toys,” he says.

Pat chuckles. “No problem.” He looks back at the two of them. “You two are arguing. Why?”

“Because Johnny’s a fucking clean freak,” Patrick mutters.

Pat snorts. “Oh.”

Jonathan rolls his eyes. “I just don’t want to trip in the dark.”

Patrick looks out the window. “Where are we going?”

“Dinner,” Abby answers, smiling back at Patrick. “You know, you’re adorable when you’re grumpy.”

Jonathan looks at Patrick. “She’s right you know.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Patrick mutters.

Patrick looks at Jonathan as he steps into the restaurant. “You didn’t tell me we were coming here,” he says softly.

“You never asked,” Jonathan replies. Here… as in where they had their first official date, even if it were only them who knew that. He smiles at Patrick as they walk through to the back table.

Patrick frowns when he sees Duncan, Kelly, Brent, and Dayna sitting there. He hadn’t expected this. He figured it would be just the four of them. He licks his lips as he looks at Jonathan. “Did you know they were coming?”

Jonathan nods. “Why do you think I’ve been starting fights the last couple days? God knows you can get anything out of me.”

Patrick grins. “You started fights on purpose?” He chuckles. “You’ve been with me for too long.”

“Shut up and sit down.” He glances at Duncan who nods at him, letting him know that everything’s set.

Patrick sits down, smiling as Jonathan sits down beside him. “You amuse me,” he says softly.

Jonathan grins. “It’s what I’m here for.”

“So, I went ahead and ordered champagne,” Duncan says. “Well, Dayna’s getting water.”

“Great,” Jonathan says. “Thanks.” He takes a deep breath as he opens his menu.

“You’re nervous,” Patrick says.

“No I’m not.” Jonathan knows he came out with that way too quickly.

Patrick raises an eyebrow. “What’s going on?”

“Look, champagne’s here.” He’s thankful when Patrick looks away. He takes a quiet breath as the glasses are passed around. He sees Kelly smile at him.

Patrick is just about to take a sip, when Dayna groans. He looks over and raises an eyebrow. “You okay?” he asks.

“They gave you my water,” Dayna answers. She smiles at Patrick as she switches their glasses.

“All right,” Duncan says with a smile. “Here’s to us.” He lifts his glass. “To another great season and great friendship.”

Patrick smiles as he lifts his glass with the others. It’s then he notices something in the bottom of his. He frowns a little as he pulls his glass back to look at it. It’s no mistaking that it’s a ring. He looks at Jonathan.

“Can’t make a big deal out of it right now obviously,” Jonathan says. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t ask you.”

Patrick stares at him. “Ask me…? Johnny…”

“Marry me, Paddy?”

“Mar… as in…?” Patrick licks his lips. “Yes.”

Jonathan smiles. “Yeah?”

“Yes. I wish I could kiss you right now.”

Jonathan laughs softly as he rests his hand on Patrick’s thigh under the table. “Later.”

“I’m glad I cleaned up the bedroom.”

“I figured you would be.” He watches Patrick down his champagne and takes the ring out. He grabs the glass of water in front of him and dips the ring in. “You could have gone to the bathroom to do that.”

“How long have you known me?”

“Right, sorry.” He smiles. “Put it on.”

Patrick wipes the ring off before slipping it on. He smiles widely at Jonathan. He definitely hadn’t expected this when he came out tonight. He never would have guessed Jonathan had planned this.

“Stop staring at me,” Jonathan says. He smiles at him.

“Sorry. Just so happy.”

“Me too.” Jonathan smiles widely as he links their fingers together.

“Love you,” Patrick whispers.

“Love you too.”

 

THE END


End file.
